The Justice Department said Rep. LaMonica McIver was formally indicted Tuesday on three charges stemming from her clash with immigration officers after she and several colleagues tried last month to force their way into an ICE facility in New Jersey.
The Democrat is charged with two impeding and interfering felonies and a third, lesser count.
According to prosecutors, Ms. McIver blocked federal officers as they tried to arrest Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.
He and three members of Congress showed up at the Delaney Hall detention center, run by U.S. immigration and Customs Enforcement, on May 9.
The members of Congress were allowed into the facility under a law guaranteeing them access. But that law does not cover the mayor, federal prosecutors said.
When he tried to remain with the group, he was told he was going to be arrested.
That’s when Ms. McIver stepped in, moving to block officers from handcuffing the mayor, prosecutors said. The mayor was escorted out and officers tried a second time to arrest him, which is when Ms. McIver was caught on video seemingly slamming her arm into two different officers.
“While people are free to express their views for or against particular policies, they must not do so in a manner that endangers law enforcement and the communities those officers serve,” New Jersey U.S. Attorney Alina Habba said on social media.
Ms. McIver was previously charged by criminal complaint.
Democrats have decried the prosecution, saying the congresswoman was at the ICE facility under color of law, as a member of Congress.
The indictment comes as protests in Los Angeles against ICE have spiraled, spurring President Trump to federalize and deploy National Guard troops and active-duty Marines.
